GUSTAVO ADOLFO VARGAS SILVA
PROFESOR ASOCIADO 2

• Department: INGENIERÍA
• Area: Ingeniería Mecánica
• e-mail: gustavo.vargasunavarra.es
• Phone number: (+34) 948 16 9332 (ext. 9332)
•   EDIFICIO LOS PINOS - DESPACHO 0022 - P.BAJA

• Breve CV
• Lecturing
• Mentoring
• Portal of scientific production
• Additional information

Dr. Gustavo Vargas-Silva was born in Medellin (Colombia). Dr. Vargas attained his Mechanical Engineer degree in 1997 at the Pontificia Bolivariana University, and he received the M.Sc. degree in Materials Engineering in 2003 at the same University. In 2005, he obtained the Diploma of Advanced Studies in New Automotive Technologies at the University of Zaragoza, in Zaragoza (Spain). In 2010, he achieved the Ph.D. degree at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastian, Spain. Dr. Vargas was also a professor at the same University. He was the Associate Chair and Mechanical Engineering Lead at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas (USA). Back in the Basque Country, he was an Associate Researcher at the research group caviar (Quality of Life in Architecture) of the University of the Basque Country. Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at the Public University of Navarra. His research interests are Materials and the Environment, Materials Design, Mechanics of Materials, and Plant biomechanics.

Dr. Vargas is passionate about teaching and focuses on STEM education. He started as Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Pontificia Bolivariana University in Medellin (Colombia), and worked as a part time Lecturer at the EAFIT University, also in Medellin. He continued as Visiting Professor in the University of the Basque Country, in San Sebastian (Spain). After getting the PhD degree from 2011 to 2019, Dr. Vargas was an Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of the Basque Country, and researcher of the 'Materials + Technologies' Group. In Texas (USA), between 2019 and 2021, he was an Associate Professor of the David L. Hirschfeld Department of Engineering at the Angelo State University. His current teaching practice is carried out as Adjunct Professor at the Department of Engineering at the Public University of Navarra, in Pamplona (Spain).

Dr. Vargas has published twenty-one scientific papers in JCR international journals, and six book chapters. He has presented more than 65 communications in international conferences and winning several R&TD&I awards. He has actively participated in several regional, national and European research projects, as well as in projects with industries, from which he has registered one patent. Regularly he also offers workshops related to materials, mechanics, biomimetics, engineering, architecture, and science & technology.

In addition to his experience in academia, he has had industrial experience working as Technical Director of the Research, Technological Development and Innovation Department at AH Associates Architects in Pamplona (Spain), between 2006 and 2010. In this work, he acquired a real-world industry understanding, putting in practice his theoretical background in mechanical and materials engineering. Moreover, he had the opportunity to work with local industries (building companies, material industries, and information and communication technology firms) and other universities, and to prepare projects / grants for obtaining external funding.

He has published a popular science book for young people: a biography of Leonhard Euler, and he was collaborator of the Eureka! Science Museum in San Sebastian, in activities that seek to encourage scientific vocations, providing high school students a real approach to Science, Technology and Research, and showing a wide range of possibilities that exist once they finish their scientific studies. Additionally, Dr. Vargas has participated in science-flavored stand-up comedy activities: the Science Week of the University of the Basque Country, and the Pint of Science Festival.

On the personal plane, Dr. Vargas is a citizen of the world: he has lived in three countries, he has a broad vision of Latin American and European cultures, and he speaks four languages (Spanish, Basque, English, and Italian). Finally, his hobbies are literature, cinema, cooking, and history of science and technology. He has two citizenships: Spaniard (i.e. European Union citizenship) and Colombian.